SIBLEY—N’West Iowa roots grow deep and often result in those planted in the region deciding to stay.
Joe Heitritter, a rural Boyden native, renewed his commitment to the area by accepting the chief executive officer position at Osceola Regional Health Center in Sibley.
“Everyone’s been very friendly and welcoming,” Heitritter said. “It makes you feel good when people are excited for you to start. This hospital has been run well, and it’s in a great financial state. There are potential growth opportunities in the future, which is exciting to be a part of.”
‘Good preparation’
Uncertainty about the direction of his future ruled as he began his postsecondary education at Northwestern College in Orange City.
Participation on the Red Raiders’ baseball team provided one of his first leadership experiences, which led to greater academic focus while he pursued a degree in sociology.
“I knew I wanted to do organizational leadership of some sort, but I really didn’t know what industry that would be,” Heitritter said. “Sociology was a good preparation for that.”
A step back from formal education provided further guidance.
He and his wife, Kendra, joined the Peace Corps in 2008 and spent two years in Paraguay, South America.
“In the Peace Corps I found health care, public health specifically,” Heitritter said. “Then when we came back to northwest Iowa, there was a part-time position open at Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center. It just kind of grew into a career. I very much appreciate the opportunity that I had there.”
Starting out in the business office, he handled collections, insurance and verifying claims.
He also put his Spanish skills to use by providing basic interpretations services.
“By that point, I knew I wanted to make a career in health care,” he said.
Earning his master’s degree in health-care administration led to additional opportunities as operations director at Promise Community Health Center and senior services officer at Sioux Center Health.
“I took the senior services role because it was an opportunity to lead more people,” Heitritter said. “They have a big senior care community, about 200 people at the time. I had a great experience with senior care and all the great people I was able to work with.”
Another transition resulted in a support services officer position, where his biggest responsibility outside of supervising various departments was Sioux Center Health’s recent construction project.
The $36 million expansion project of the hospital and senior community wrapped up earlier this year.
“As I’m getting into that next stage of my life, I just felt like it was an opportunity to look for something where I could use my experience and my skills and grow professionally,” he said.
So, when the position at Osceola Regional Health Center opened, he could stay close to home and family while investing in a small community.
“This is something I’m passionate about,” Heitritter said. “I’m a small-town person and I’m just really excited about living here and being a part of this community.”
‘Challenging’
“Rural health care is getting more challenging,” Heitritter said.
One concern involves for-profit companies that provide value for their services but also can pick and choose what they want to do based on where the return is.
“What happens is the community service piece of it what you’re seeing with the local hospital, that financial burden continues to get put on taxpayers,” Heitritter said. “As a rural hospital, we have to find ways that we can draw people and make their experience positive for those type of benefits such as ancillary services.
“We have to have certain things that aren’t necessarily going to always make money, so we need to be able to be fiscally responsible by doing a good job at those other services. By doing that, it keeps the cost of care efficient.”
The regulatory environment continues to change as well. Small hospitals rarely have multiple people that are experts in regulations to make sure the facility is compliant, and retention of these knowledgeable staff members is important.
Heitritter has no immediate plans to make any major changes at Osceola Regional Health Center.
“My impression is that this place is doing really well, and it would be a mistake to mess with that too much,” he said. “I’m here to learn. I have a lot of opinions, but I’m doing my best just to sit and learn, and when we do make decisions that they’re wise decisions.”
He intends to continue the ongoing pursuit by the facility to recruit more specialists to improve patient access and care.
“My goal is to keep people in town by providing good service here. If we have it in town, I hope they choose us,” Heitritter said. “From what I’ve seen so far, they do a great job here. My job as a CEO is to make sure that I communicate that well and make sure that everyone’s aware of what we do here, and that they see the benefit of supporting their community.”
AT A GLANCE:
Name: Joe Heitritter
Position: Chief executive officer at Osceola Regional Health Center in Sibley
Start date: Sept. 18
Age: 37
Hometown: Rural Boyden
Residence: In process of moving from Sioux Center to Sibley.
Education: Bachelor in sociology from Northwestern College in Orange City in 2008; master’s degree in health-care administration from Bellevue University in Bellevue, NE, in 2013.
Work experience: Peace Corps 2008-10 in Paraguay, South America; Promise Community Health Center 2010-13; Sioux Center Health 2014-23.
Family: Wife, Kendra; daughters Lucy, 13; Rose, 9; and Nora, 5.
Interests: Sports, especially baseball and golf; outdoor activities.
